Dispenser and cutter and the like



March 28, 1967 R. N. BRANDON 3,311,278

DISPENSER AND CUTTER AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 12, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 1March 28, 1967 R. N. BRANDON DISPENSER AND CUTTER AND THE LIKE 5Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 12, 1965 March 28, 1967 R. N. BRANDON3,311,273

DISPENSER AND CUTTER AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 12, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 5March 1967 R. N. BRANDON 3,311,278

DISPENSER AND CUTTER AND THE LIKE lzlav mo 1 March 28, 1967 R. N.BRANDON 3,311,278

DISPENSER AND CUTTER AND THE LIKE Filed 001;. 12, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 5United States Patent C) 3,311,278 DISPENSER AND CUTTER AND THE LIKERichard N. Brandon, Warren, Ohio, assignor to Auzviil Jackson, .112,Richmond, Va. Filed st 12, 1965, Ser. No. 599,481 12 Ciaims. (Cl.225--93) This application is a continuation'in-part application ofapplicants copending parent application, Ser. No. 312,- 174, filed Sept.27, 1963, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a dispenser and cutter and the like andparticularly to a dispenser and cutter for household wrap having a meanswhereby the material to be cut is first clamped on both sides of acutting blade followed by a movement of the cutter blade in between thetwo clamped areas to cut the material.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved household wrapdispenser and cutter which is operated in a simple manner to dispenseand cut household wrap more effectively than the devices presentlyavailable to the consumer.

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of theinvention will be apparent from the following more particulardescription of three preferred embodiments of the invention, asillustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of theapplication and wherein like reference numerals indicate like parts.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded view of one embodiment.

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of assembled FIG- URE 1 looking in anaxial direction and showing the position of the parts just prior toactuation of the cutter.

FIGURE 3 is a schematic view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing theposition of the parts just after the sheet has been cut.

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 but showing the parts with theouter cover lifted to expose the end of the sheet prior to withdrawal ofanother piece.

FIGURE 5 is an exploded view of a second embodirnent.

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view of assembled FIG- URE 5 looking in anaxial direction and just prior to actuation of cutter.

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 6 showing the position of the partsjust after the cutter has been actuated and the sheet cut.

FIGURE 8 is a schematic representation of a crosssectional view of athird embodiment looking in an axial direction and just prior toactuation of the cutter.

FIGURE 9 is similar to FIGURE 8 but showing the position of the partsjust after actuation of the cutter.

FIGURE 10 is a left rear view of a cutaway portion of a fourthembodiment.

FIGURE 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines XIXI of FIGURE 10.

It is to be understood that throughout this application the term sheetis used in the broad sense as encompassing such terms as film, ribbon,foil, tape, and other such thin materials. Also, it is to be understoodthat the term cutting is used in the broad sense to include not only acomplete severing along a line but a series of perforations as well.

With reference to FIGURES 1 and 2, a first embodiment of a combinationdispenser and cutter is shown, which is especially adapted for thedispensing of household aluminum foil wrap. The roll of foil is housedin a container 11 having three side walls 12, two ends 13, twocantilevered projecting arms 14, having locking buttons 15 on the endthereof. Around the top periphery is a container-mating edge 16 adaptedto mate with the cover 17.

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The cover 17 has two alignment legs 1% and two locking apertures 19. Thecover 17 is held onto the container 11 by the cantilevered projectingarms 14 being pressed inward to permit alignment legs 18 to beinternally received into the container 11 until mating edge 24 on thecover 17 mates with the container-mating edge In. At this position theprojecting arms 14 are permitted to swing out pushing locking buttons 15into their respective locking apertures 19. When it is desired toseparate the cover 17 from the container 11, the locking buttons 15 arepressed inwardly until they clear the inner wall of the container 11, atwhich position the cover can be removed.

Cover 17 also contains a wrap dispensing slot 20, a supporting surface21, and three wells 22 which are separated by two blade supports 23.Also contained on cover 17 are two cover pivot points 27a.

The two rivets 33 extend through cover pivot points 27a, pivot bearings38, and into pivot points 27 located on inner clamp or second outer wall25 where they are held by frictional forces.

Inner clamp 25 contains a flat surface 26 and a first clamp area 28.Clamp area 28 is on a slight incline and is separated from clamp area 30by a blade receiving channel 29 having contained therein two slots 29a.Mounted on clamp area 28 is a clamping surface 28a, which may be aroughened surface, an abrasive strip, or a layer of abrasive paint. Asimilar clamping surface 31%: is located on clamp area 39. The outerterminus of inner clamp 25 is an edge flange 31 having a head to smooththe exit of the foil wrap. On the under side of fiat surface 26 isadhesively fastened a strip of vinyl opencelled resilient foam which islikewise adhesively fastened to supporting surface 21 of cover 17.

The blade or cutting means 34, having scalloped teeth 35, is held inblade receiving channel 29 by means of tabs 34:: projecting throughslots 2%.

An outer clamp or first outer wall 36 is affixed to the pivot bearings33 by welding, or otherwise, and has an outer cover 39, a liftingprojection 41 an opening lever 37 and a hump 43. On the inside of thehump 4-3 a resilient strip 230 is held in resilient strip support 28dand has a clamping surface 23b adapted to resiliently mate with clampingsurface 28a. Likewise, resilient strip 30c is held by resilient stripsupport 30d so that its clamping surface 39!) will resiliently mate withclamping surface 36a. The resilient strip support 28d and 39d are cutfrom pieces of extruded soft and flexible vinyl weather stripping.

The operation of the embodiment shown in FIG- URES 1 through 4 is quitesimple. After a roll 41 of household aluminum foil has been placed intothe cornpartment of the container 11, an end or leading portion 42 isunrolled from the roll and threaded through wrap dispensing slot 20 ofthe cover 17 as it is removably attached in the manner described aboveto the container 11. The foil end 42 is then fed between the inner clampor second outer wall member 25 and the outer clamp or first outer wallmember 36. When it is desired to have a piece of foil, outer clamp 36 isopened by depressing the opening lever 37 as shown in FIGURE 4 or elseby lifting the lifting projection 40. This causes the outer clamp topivot about pivot bearing 38 to expose the foil. And end is grasped andthe desired amount pulled from the roll through the dispensing openingdefined between the wall members 25 and 36. The outer clamp, which ispermitted to close, comes to rest as shown in FIGURE 2 so that the foilis grasped on one side of blade or cutting means 34 between matingclamping surfaces 28b and 2811. Likewise, on the opposite side of theblade, the foil is grasped between mating clamping surfaces 30a and 30b.The outer clamp may be depressed either by pushing downward on hump 43as shown in FIGURE 2 or by pushing downward on outer cover 39 portion.As the outer clamp 36 continues to be forced, the mating clampingsurfaces clamp the foil tightly with the assistance of the resilientbacking clamping surfaces 28b and 391) being provided by resilientstrips 280 and 36s, respectively. Resistance to the cutting movement isolfered by a spring which is preferably a resistant open-celled vinylfoam. As the cutting action is continued, the inner clamp 25 compressesresilient foam 32 and causes the blade receiving channel 29 to bedepressed into wells 22 of the cover 17. The blade 34 which is looselyheld in the blade receiving channel 29 by tabs 34a projecting into slots29a is prevented from following the blade receiving channel 29 intowells 22 by blade supports 23. Slots 29a are the height sufiicient topermit the blade receiving channel 29 to move downward with the bladebut at the same time prevent the blade from falling out of the bladereceiving channel.

With reference to FIGURE 3, as the cutting action is continued, the foilwhich is clamped on both sides of the blade is stretched over the bladeand then forced downward so as to cause the teeth of the blade to firstcut the foil in a series of perforations followed by a completesevering. Upon release of the cutting force, the resilient foam 32expands to its normal position which causes the blade receiving channel29 to return over blade 34 to form a guard for same. Since the force hasbeen removed, the clamping forces are then practically nil and the foilend 42 which has just been severed falls freely from the dispenser.

It is to be noted that the dispenser and cutter can be easily actuatedwith one hand while the other hand may be busy holding an object to beWrapped. Also, it is to be noted that the dispenser and cover can beplaced on a counter top in the position shown in FIGURES 2, 3, and 4, orit may be rotated 90 degrees so that the outer clamp is in a normalvertical position and can be mounted to the wall in any conventionalmanner.

With reference to FIGURES 5, 6, and 7, a second embodiment of theinvention is shown.

The container 111 is provided with three walls 112, two ends 113, alocking aperture 119 in each end, an alignment leg 118 on each end, andtwo container-mating edges 116.

A cover 117 is provided with a wrap dispensing slot 120 having wrapdispensing slot reinforcing and guiding ridges 120a, two supportingsurfaces 121 having supporting surface reinforcing ridges 121a and ablade support 123. The cover 117 is further provided with two projectingarms 114 attached to the cover by integral hinge 114a. Each of theprojecting arms 114- contains a locking button 115. The cover furthercontains two mating edges 124 adapted to mate with complementaiycontainer mating edges 116. The cover is removably attached to thecontainer by folding projecting arms 114 downward and inward aboutintegral hinges 114a. The cover is then guided between alignment legs118 until mating edges 124 rest on container-mating edges 116. In thisposition locking buttons 115 are free to move outward into lockingapertures 119 to hold the cover in place. The integral hinges 114a havea normal bias outward which in effect causes a springdike movement oflocking buttons 115 into place.

Blade or cutting means 134, having scalloped teeth 135, rests on bladesupport 123 and is preferably molded in one piece integrally with cover117.

On each side of blade 134 resilient strips 128s and 130s are adhesivelyheld on supporting surfaces 121. The resilient strips are preferablymade of vinyl opencelled foam and are preferably of suificient height toenable the top edge to be approximately level with or slightly higherthan blade 134. The top surface of each resilient strip could beutilized to form a clamping sur face. However, in the embodiment shown,it is preferred to have an inner clamp or second outer wall 125 having aserrated clamping surface 128a, a blade receiving slot 129, and a secondserrated clamping surface 139a. The inner clamp has each edge terminatedin an edge flange 131. The outer edge flange 131 serves to guide thewrap upon exit from the dispenser and cutter and covers the front for amore attractive appearance. The inner edge flange helps to guide thewrap into the clamping area after it leaves the wrap dispensing slot120. The inner clamp 125 is preferably made from a thin, soft and veryflexible plastic material so that it will readily adopt its surface tothe mating clamps under the force of resilient strips 128a and C towhich it is adhesively held.

Mounted to the rear of cover 117 is hinge Wall 133 to which is heldouter clamp or outer Wall 136 by means of integral hinge 127. Slots 127aare provided in integral hinge 127 so as to make it less stiff. Outerclamp 136 contains an outer cover 139 area and lifting projection 140.It has a hump 143 on each side of which is a serrated clamping surface123!) and 13%. The hump in operating position overlies blade 134 andduring the cutting action receives the blade thereinto. Also, thechannel-like nature of the hump provides a beam for the top surface and,in conjunction with the beam-like nature of the cutting blade andsupporting surface reinforcing ridges 121a, serves to stiffen the deviceto resist the deforming effect of the cutting forces when they areapplied.

It is readily seen from FIGURE 5 that the cover 117, outer clamp 136,projecting arms 114, blade 134, and other related items are all providedin a one-piece plastic molding, preferably made of polypropylene whichis especially suitable for integral hingers, such as 114a and 127. Aone-piece molding provides a device which. is very easily assembled withall the parts automatically falling into proper alignment. The alignmentand assembly could be a problem if the items were separately made andthen assembled.

The operation of the embodiment shown in FIGURES 5 through 7 is similarto that of the first embodiment. A roll of household aluminum foil wrapis placed in the compartment of the container and an end roll 141 of thefoil is placed in the container and a portion is drawn from the roll andpassed through wrap dispensing slot 120 as the cover 117 is removablyplaced on the container. The end of the foil is then drawn between outerclamp or first outer wall 136 and inner clamp or second outer wall 125.When it is desired to obtain a piece of wrap, the outer clamp is liftedby projection 140- and the end of the wrap is grasped and a desiredamount pulled from the container through the dispensing opening definedbetween the outer walls 136 and 125. Then the outer clamp is depressed,gripping the wrap between mating clamping surfaces 128a and 12817 on oneside of blade 134 and mating clamping surfaces 130a and 13012 on theother side of the blade 134. As the cutting force is applied to theouter clamp 136, resilient strips 1280 and 1313c are caused to compressas shown in FIGURE 7, forcing the mating clamping surfaces tightlytowards one another, thereby grasping the wrap and holding it while itis pulled down over blade 134 which completely severs the wrap in anattractive, relatively straight, and agged square line. Upon release ofthe cutting force, the compressed resilient strips return the combineddispenser and cutter to the position shown in FIGURE 6 where theclamping force is almost completely absent so that the severed end canbe readily withdrawn from the cutting area.

It is to be noted that in this second embodiment, the resilient stripsnot only serve to force the clamping areas together but also serve asspring-like members to return the dispenser and cutter to its normalposition upon release of the cutting forces.

With reference to the third embodiment shown schematically in FIGURES 8and 9, this embodiment is quite similar to that shown in FIGURES 5through 7. There is provided a container 211 having three side walls 212and two end walls which are not shown. Removably attached to thecontainer is a cover 217 having a dispensing slot 220 and two supportingsurfaces 221 on each side of a blade support 223. integrally attached toblade support 223 is a blade or cutting means 234 having a series ofteeth which are not shown. At the rear of cover 217 is provided anintegral hinge wall 233 containing an integral hinge 227 to which isintegrally attached an outer clamp or first outer wall 236. Adhesivelyfixed to outer clamp 236 is a resilient strip 2280, the surface of which2281) provides one clamping surface which mates with a clamping surface228a, which may be serrated, which is the surface of one of thesupporting surfaces 221. The inner surface of hump 243 may be serratedand forms a clamping surface 23Gb which mates with a complementaryclamping surface 230a, which may also be serrated. Clamping surface 23%is formed on an inner clamp or second outer wall 225 which is a thinflexible piece of soft plastic adhesively adhered to resilient strip2300. Resilient strip 236:: is also adhesively adhered to the frontsupporting surface 221.

The operation of the third embodiment is similar to that of the secondembodiment shown in FIGURES 5 through 7. The outer clamp 23% is raisedand the end of the roll 241 is grasped and a desired amount of wrap isextracted. Then the outer clamp 236 is permitted to close and is presseddownwardly against the resistance of resilient strips 228a and 230C. Thefirst portion of the movement clamps the wrap between mating surfaces228a and 228b on one side of blade 234 and clamps the wrap betweenmating surfaces 239]) and 232a on the opposite side of blade 234. Uponfurther cutting movement, the wrap is pulled down over blade 234 topreferably cause complete severing of same along a substantiallystraight and square line. Upon release of the cutting force, theresilient strips which were compressed in the manner shown in FIGURE 9return the combination dispenser and cutter to its normal position asshown in FIG- URE 8 permitting ready withdrawal of the severed portionof the wrap.

The fourth embodiment shown in FIGURES l0 and 11 is a departure from theprevious three embodiments largely in that its framework is adapted tofit in any of a wide number of containers 311 shown in dotted linesincluding a cardboard container similar to those in which household wrapis presently sold provided the top is first removed.

Alignment legs 318 at each end of the assembly are rectangular thinmetal plates which closely match the end dimensions of the container andhave holes drilled therein at their upper rear corners to receive rivets333 which pass through pivot bearings 338 and holes drilled in end tabs325a bent downward at each end of inner clamp 325. The rivets are driveninto and frictionally held by the tubular portion of reta'rder 35 3.Pivot bearings 338 are fitted and securely staked into slot 351 which isextruded in the outer clamp and cover 336. This permits the outer clampand cover or first outer wall 336, inner clamp or second outer wall 325and retarder 35% to freely pivot with relative independence to oneanother. The outer clamp and cover also has extruded therein ablade-receiving channel and hump 3 :3.

The inner clamp 235 which has one side pivoted, has the other sideadhesively affixed to a resilient strip of vinyl foam 332 along itsouter border and contains adjacent the inner edge of said resilientstrip a blade-receiving slot 329 which has adjacent either side thereofclamping areas 323 and 330 which mate with similar clamping areas on theunderside of the outer clamp and cover. The inner clamp 325 alsocontains a retarding ridge 325b which mates with retarder 351} me mannersuch that the material being dispensed from the roll as shown in dotted6 lines passes between the retarder and retarding ridge and is held bythe force of gravity on the retarder from falling back into thecontainer after being cut.

The blade or cutting means 334 is mounted on inner cover and bladesupport assembly 321 which also supports the resilient strip 332 whichis adhesively attached thereto. The supporting assembly is Welded ateach of its ends to the alignment legs 318 and has a re-enforcing andalignment flange 353 at its front end. Re-enforcing and alignmentchannel 352 is attached to the rear of the unit .by having both of itsends welded to alignment legs 318. The operation of the fourthembodiment is readily apparent by reference to the operation of theprevious three embodiments.

It is to be noted that in the case of aluminum foil all threeembodiments serve to form a small upward flange on the severed end ofthe foil due to its being pulled downward over the cutting blade. Thispermits a ready grasping of the end of the foil when a new piece is tobe extracted. Also, it is readily seen that in all four embodiments theclamping action is suflicient to prevent the withdrawal of the sheeteither from the remaining roll or from the portion desired to besevered. This prevents the sheet from merely draping itself over thecutting blade rather than being cup and results in the very eflicientcutting action which is obtained. Also, it will be readily apparent thatalthough the invention has been described primarily for use as acombination dispenser and cutter, it is obviously also usable with otherhousehold wrap, such as wax paper and the like and is readily adaptableto other sheet materials of widths varying from narrow to wide.Normally, however, the invention is preferably utilized with householdwrap dispensed from a roll having a width varying from about 7 inches toabout 18 inches and a thickness of less than .006 inch.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to three preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those skilled in the art that changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

'1. In an aluminum foil household wrap dispenser having a self-containedcutting device for cutting wrap of a thickness less than .006 inch.

(a) a box-like container having three sides and two ends and being of alength not less than that necessary to accommodate a roll of aluminumfoil of about 7 inches in length nor greater than that necessary toaccommodate a roll of aluminum foil of about 18 inches in length andhaving a width to accommodate the roll of aluminum foil whose diameteris not greater than one-third its length,

(b) a locking means on said container,

(c) a polypropylene cover for covering the open side of said containerhaving a wrap dispensing slot, a blade support, and a supporting surfaceon each side of said blade support,

((1) a polypropylene blade having scalloped teeth mounted integrally onsaid blade support and molded as one piece at the same time as saidblade support and cover,

(e) two polypropylene projecting arms molded as one piece with saidcover and hingedly connected thereto and having locking means forcooperating with said locking means on said container to removablyattach said cover to said container,

(f) an elongated resilient vinyl open-celled foam strip adhesivelyattached to said supporting surfaces on said cover and being of a heightequal to about the height of said blade,

(g) a thin, flexible soft plastic inner clamp adhesively mounted to thetop surface of said foam strip and having a blade receiving slot and aserrated clamping surface on each side of said slot, said clamping 7 7surface normally being level with or slightly higher than said blade,and

(h) a polypropylene outer clamp molded as one piece at the same time assaid cover and hingedly connected thereto along a line parallel to thelonger direction of said container, said outer clamp having a humpnormally overlying said blade, a serrated clamping surface on each sideof said hump, and a lifting projection, said outer clamp substantiallycovering the entire cover so as to keep the inside of the dispenserunexposed and sanitary.

2. In a household wrap dispenser having a self-contained cutting devicefor cutting wrap of a thickness less than .006 inch,

(a) a boxlike container having three sides and two ends and being of alength not less than that necessary to accommodate a roll of aluminumfoil of about 7 inches in length nor greater than that neces sary toaccommodate a roll of Wrap of about 18 inches in length and having awidth to accommodate the roll of wrap whose diameter is not greater thanone-third its length,

(b) a cover covering the open side of said container having a wrapdispensing slot, a blade support, an inner supporting surface on theinner side of said blade support providing an inner clamping surface,and an outer supporting surface of the other side of said blade support,

(c) a blade having teeth mounted integrally on said blade support,

((1) an outer elongated resilient strip adhesively attached to saidouter supporting surface on said cover and being of a height equal toabout the height of said blade,

(e) a thin, flexible soft plastic inner clamp adhesively mounted to thetop surface of said outer resilient strip and having a clamping surfacethereupon, said clamping surface normally being level with or slightlyhigher than said blade,

(f) an outer clamp hingedly connected to the said cover along a lineparallel to the longer direction of said container, said outer clamphaving a hump, the underside of which forms an outer clamping surfacemating with the clamping surface of said inner clamp, said outer clampsubstantially covering the entire cover so as to keep the inside of thedispenser unexposed and sanitary, and

(g) an inner elongated resilient strip adhesively attached to said outerclamp having a clamping surface adapted to mate with the inner clampingsurface of said cover.

3. In a household wrap dispenser having a self-contained cutting devicefor cutting wrap of a thickness less than .006 inch,

(a) a box-like container having three sides and two ends and being of alength not less than that necessary to accommodate a roll of wrap ofabout 7 inches in length nor greater than that ncessary to accommodate aroll of wrap of about 18 inches in length and having a width toaccommodate the roll of wrap whose diameter is not greater thanone-third its length,

(b) two locking means on said container,

(c) a covered covering the open side of said container having a wrapdispensing slot, a blade support supporting means, and a supportingsurface,

(d) a blade having scalloped teeth supported on said blade supportingmeans,

(e) two locking means on said cover for cooperating with said lockingmeans on said container to removably attach said cover to saidcontainer,

(f) an elongated resilient vinyl open-celled foam strip adhesivelyattached to said supporting surface on said cover,

(g) an inner clamp pivotally attached to said cover having a flatsurface adhesively attached to said vinyl foam strip,

(h) a blade receiving channel in said inner clamp in which said blade ismovably held,

(i) a clamping surface on each side of said blade receiving channel,

(j) an outer clamp pivotally connected to said cover along a lineparallel to the longer direction of said container, said outer clamphaving a hump normally overlying said blade, a resiliently backedclamping surface on each side of said hump, an open lever, and a liftingprojection said outer clamp substantially covering the entire cover soas to keep the inside of the dispenser unexposed and sanitary.

In a cutting device adapted to be associated with a dispenser of sheetmaterial having an external sheet material dispensing opening,

(a) a cutting blade inboard of said external dispensing opening andinside said dispenser,

(b) two clamping areas movable from a non-clamping position to aclamping position and arranged so that said blade can be disposedtherebetween to cut the material, said clamping area being substantiallyparallel to the cutting blade in both the clamping and non-clampingpositions, one of said clamping areas being defined by two outer wallsof said dispenser, said external opening being defined between said twoouter walls, and

(c) a resilient means which is stressed when a force is applied so thatsaid blade can be disposed between the two clamping areas, saidstressing of the resilient means causing energy to be stored therein fortending to cause said blade not to be disposed between the two clampingareas upon release of the applied force.

5. A household wrap dispensing container or the like for seriallydispensing selected lengths of wrapping material or the like comprisingwall means defining a closed compartment therein receiving a supply ofsaid wrapping material, said wall means having a container closing outerwall movable relative to said container and defining part of an externaldispensing opening thereof, said outer Wall being movable to a cuttingposition to cause cutting of the trailing portion of a selected lengthof said wrapping material dispensed out of said opening from theremainder of said supply in said compartment, said cutting operationtaking place inboard of said external opening and solely by the movementof said outer wall to its cutting position, said outer wall, thereafter,being movable to a noncutting position to permit subsequent dispensingof another selected length of said wrapping material out of saidopening, said wall means including a second outer wall, movable relativeto said container and defining an opposed part of said opening, saidsecond wall moving in unison with said first-named outer wall as saidfirstnamed outer wall moves between its dispensing position and itscutting position whereby said opening moves relative to said container.

6. A dispensing container as set forth in claim 5 wherein said outerwalls clamp said wrapping material therebetween during said cuttingoperation.

7. A dispensing container as set forth in claim 6 and including astationary cutter carried by said container, said outer wall meansmoving said trailing portion of said selected length of dispensedwrapping material relative to said cutter to cut said trailing portionfrom the remainder of said supply when said outer walls are moved tosaid cutting positions thereof.

8. A dispensing container as set forth in claim 7 and including meansfor automatically returning said outer walls to said dispensing positonthereof from said cutting position thereof when said first-named outerwall is released at its cutting position.

9. A dispensing container as set forth in claim 8 wherein said returningmeans comprises resilient means.

10. A dispensing container as set forth in claim 8 wherein said secondouter wall substantially covers said cutter when said second outer wallis in its dispensing position to tend to prevent the user from engagingsaid cutter during a dispensing operation.

11. A dispensing container as set forth in claim 7 wherein said outerwalls have cooperating clamping surfaces disposed on opposite sides ofsaid cutter for holding said wrapping material therebetween on opposedsides of said cutter during said cutting operation.

12. A household wrap dispensing container or the like comprising wallmeans defining a compartment therein receiving a supply of said wrap,said Wall means having a wrap dispensing opening definable between afirst outer wall member and a second outer wall member of said wallmeans, said wall members being movable in unison relative to saidcontainer between a wrap clamping position thereof and a wrap severingposition thereof whereby the outer end of said opening is moved relativeto said container, said first outer wall member being movable away fromsaid second outer wall member to more fully open said opening and permitthe leading portion of said wrap to be grasped and drawn out of saidopening, and cutting means carried inside said container whereby saidwrap can be drawn from said compartment out through said opening for adesired length thereof and, thereafter, be severed from said supplythereof by clamping the trailing portion of said desired length betweensaid Wall members and moving said clamping wall members relative to saidcutting means to said wrap cutting position thereof so that said cuttingmeans will sever said trailing portion of said desired length from saidsupply thereof while said trailing portion is inside said container andso that said cutting operation will not substantially bend or creasesaid trailing portion of said desired length as said opening outboard ofsaid cutting means moves in unison with said first and second wallmembers.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 833,470 10/ 1906Lipowsky 83-570 2,267,060 12/ 1941 Wakefield 225-44 2,484,673 10/1949Becker 83-649 X 2,613,879 10/1952 Carr 22543 2,614,015 10/1952 McGehee225-44 2,921,493 1/ 1960 Emmert 83-649 3,035,345 5/1962 Barnard 83-649 X3,151,793 10/1964 Smith 225-44 X FOREIGN PATENTS 67,660 6/ 1940Czechoslovakia. 360,562 4/ 1906 France.

WILLIAM W. DYER, JR., Primary Examiner.

I. M. MEISTER, Examiner.

1. IN AN ALUMINUM FOIL HOUSEHOLD WRAP DISPENSER HAVING A SELF-CONTAINEDCUTTING DEVICE FOR CUTTING WRAP OF A THICKNESS LESS THAN .006 INCH. (A)A BOX-LIKE CONTAINER HAVING THREE SIDES AND TWO ENDS AND BEING OF ALENGTH NOT LESS THAN THAT NECESSARY TO ACCOMMODATE A ROLL OF ALUMINUMFOIL OF ABOUT 7 INCHES IN LENGTH NOR GREATER THAN THAT NECESSARY TOACCOMMODATE A ROLL OF ALUMINUM FOIL OF ABOUT 18 INCHES IN LENGTH ANDHAVING A WIDTH TO ACCOMMODATE THE ROLL OF ALUMINUM FOIL WHOSE DIAMETERIS NOT GREATER THAN ONE-THIRD ITS LENGTH, (B) A LOCKING MEANS ON SAIDCONTAINER, (C) A POLYPROPYLENE COVER FOR COVERING THE OPEN SIDE OF SAIDCONTAINER HAVING A WRAP DISPENSING SLOT, A BLADE SUPPORT, AND ASUPPORTING SURFACE ON EACH SIDE OF SAID BLADE SUPPORT, (D) APOLYPROPYLENE BLADE HAVING SCALLOPED TEETH MOUNTED INTEGRALLY ON SAIDBLADE SUPPORT AND MOLDED AS ONE PIECE AT THE SAME TIME AS SAID BLADESUPPORT AND COVER, (E) TWO POLYPROPYLENE PROJECTING ARMS MOLDED AS ONEPIECE WITH SAID COVER AND HINGEDLY CONNECTED THERETO AND HAVING LOCKINGMEANS FOR COOPERATING WITH SAID LOCKING MEANS ON SAID CONTAINER TOREMOVABLY ATTACH SAID COVER TO SAID CONTAINER, (F) AN ELONGATEDRESILIENT VINYL OPEN-CELLED FOAM STRIP ADHESIVELY ATTACHED TO SAIDSUPPORTING SURFACES ON SAID COVER AND BEING OF A HEIGHT EQUAL TO ABOUTTHE HEIGHT OF SAID BLADE, (G) A THIN, FLEXIBLE SOFT PLASTIC INNER CLAMPADHESIVELY MOUNTED TO THE TOP SURFACE OF SAID FOAM STRIP AND HAVING ABLADE RECEIVING SLOT AND SERRATED CLAMPING SURFACE ON EACH SIDE OF SAIDSLOT, SAID CLAMPING SURFACE NORMALLY BEING LEVEL WITH OR SLIGHTLY HIGHERTHAN SAID BLADE, AND (H) A POLYPROPYLENE OUTER CLAMP MOLDED AS ONE PIECEAT THE SAME TIME AS SAID COVER AND HINGEDLY CONNECTED THERETO ALONG ALINE PARALLEL TO THE LONGER DIRECTION OF SAID CONTAINER, SAID OUTERCLAMP HAVING A HUMP NORMALLY OVERLYING SAID BLADE, A SERRATED CLAMPINGSURFACE ON EACH SIDE OF SAID HUMP, AND A LIFTING PROJECTING, SAID OUTERCLAMP SUBSTANTIALLY COVERING THE ENTIRE COVER SO AS TO KEEP THE INSIDEOF THE DISPENSER UNEXPOSED AND SANITARY.